WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The results of a University of Illinois study have demonstrated an effective way to lower cholesterol levels -- by eating chocolate bars.

"Eating two dark chocolate bars a day not only lowered cholesterol, it had the unexpected effect of also lowering systolic blood pressure," said John Erdman, a UI professor of food science and human nutrition, in a prepared statement released Monday by the university.

Erdman attributes the drop in cholesterol numbers (total cholesterol by 2 percent and LDL or "bad" cholesterol by 5.3 percent) to the plant sterols that have been added to the bar and the drop in blood pressure to the flavanols found in dark chocolate.

Forty-nine persons with slightly elevated cholesterol and normal blood pressure were recruited for the study. They were divided into two matched groups. Two types of bars were then introduced, one with plant sterols and one without.

Blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure, body weight, and other cardiovascular measures were tracked throughout the eight-week study.

"We saw a marked differential effect on blood cholesterol, with the sterol-containing products doing better than those without sterols," write the authors. The study was published in April's Journal of Nutrition.

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